Photographer Assaulted At Philly Christopher Columbus Statue: DA

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia man is facing assault and ethnic intimidation charges after allegedly punching a black photographer Tuesday evening near the Christopher Columbus statue in South Philadelphia's Marconi Plaza.

District Attorney Larry Krasner said John Mooney, 58, of Philadelphia has been charged with ethnic intimidation, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and harassment.

According to the DA's office, the incident occurred Tuesday amid protests and counter protests at the statue, which has since been boxed up by the city due to previous protests and calls to remove it.

The photographer, Mel D. Cole, caught the incident on camera and shared it to social media.

In the video, Mooney can be seen in a group of people who are verbally taunting and threatening violence to anti-racism protesters at Marconi Plaza, according to the DA's office.

Mooney repeatedly tells the Cole, who is Black, “get out of here, boy,” before punching him in the face and knocking his camera to the ground.

The video is below, but it does contain strong language:

Cole said on Instagram that he was sucker punched in the jaw but is fine.

"Video shows police on scene arresting Mooney after he punched this photographer, a Black man who has been doing the important work of journalistic photography of anti-racism protests across the country. However, these incidents continue to raise serious questions about policing and unequal application of the law in the city of Philadelphia," Krasner said. "For four consecutive weeks, thousands of Philadelphians have been peacefully taking to the streets to demand equal justice and accountability for all institutions, including the Philadelphia Police Department, and have done so without wielding bats, hammers, firearms, or racial epithets."

Krasner said police have made "far more arrests of protesters and journalists" than of counter protesters and armed citizens, such as those seen in Fishtown on June 1 and at Marconi Plaza last week.

"It is no wonder, then, that Americans here and across the country have been marching non-stop since late May, following the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police, to demand equal accountability and equal treatment under the law," Krasner said.